Saturday,January4,2014 Saturday,January4,2014 2 www. eveningexpress.co.uk www. eveningexpress.co.uk 3 Peter May Clearances inspire latest crime fiction celeb profiles By Erica Banks BEST KNOWN FOR: His ‘Stars are ESTSELLING crime films with Martin novelist Peter May was Scorsese. like inmates Binspired by the history EARLY LIFE: Born of the Highlands when he Robert De Niro Jr on began writing his new book, August 17, 1943. De running the Entry Island. Niro studied at the The Scottish-born author will visit Little Red School asylum’ Aberdeen next week to hold a talk House and the High and sign copies of his novel, which School of Music and 1973’s Bang the Drum is set between the Isle of Lewis Art, but left high Slowly and Mean and Entry Island, off the coast of He May be the master school at 16 to study Streets (his first Quebec in Canada. acting at the Stella collaboration with Peter, who lives in France, often Adler Conservatory Martin Scorsese) that visits his home country for and the American his career took off. He publishing events, but one of his Workshop. He’d been received an Oscar for earliest visits to Aberdeen was for hooked on becoming The Godfather Part II a very different reason. an actor after playing a year later and was the Cowardly Lion in a Academy Award “I was in a band when I was a school production of teenager and we came up to the nominated for Taxi of Highland history The Wizard of Oz at Driver and The Deer city to play at the Beach the age of 10. Ballroom,” he said. speak was never something that Peter said it had always interested link between the two but it takes Mum, dad and my sister and her Hunter, and took home his second Oscar “The memory sticks in my mind felt natural to me and I used to him. the unravelling of the book for pal all stayed in a little apartment CAREER: It wasn’t until for Raging Bull. because we slept on the floor of dread having to do it,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to write that link to become apparent at on the Riviera. It was so different the ballroom –we had nowhere “Eventually I discovered the best about the Highland Clearances,” the end,” said Peter. and exotic at that time and it TRIVIA: Divorced else to go!” thing to do was not to prepare for he said. “The topic isn’t on history “Sometimes fiction is the best really sticks in my mind. from Diahnne Abbot The chart-topping crime author is them but just to talk from the curriculums in schools but I was way to let important history reach and currently hopeful of a comfier kip on his heart.” intrigued from a young age. a wide audience.” My first job married to Grace upcoming visit, but admitted he The talk and signing, at the “The book allowed me to explore When I was expelled, I got a job as Hightower. hasn’t always been comfortable University of Aberdeen’s all the issues I wanted to address – My first school a clerical officer. I had to work out QUOTE: speaking in public. MacRobert Hall on January 11, the reasons behind the clearances, I went to Eastwood Senior High. I the interest in bank books for the ”Hollywood has a “Getting up in front of people to will involve discussion about Entry how they really affected people played in a band and had long Department of class system. The Island and Peter’s long on the ground and how people hair, so I was a bit National Savings in actors are like the history of writing, were treated on the voyages and unconventional, Cowglen. In those inmates, but the which includes when they arrived in Canada.” which days it was a big long truth is they’re scripts for But the low crime rate on the Isle ultimately led pre-war shed. You SCREEN FAVOURITES: The Man From U.N.C.L.E., running the television. of Lewis left Peter with a bit of a to a conflict had to ask to go the left, The Lone Ranger and North West Frontier. asylum.” Talking about quandary. with my toilet, it was soul- ■ Tonight: Little the subject “I had to find a way to intertwine headmaster in destroying. I only Fockers, BBC matter of his the history of the Highlands and my final year. lasted three months One, 10.25pm new book, Islands with a contemporary crime He called me in before I just got up WHERE ARE THEY NOW ... story,”he said. one day and one day and I remember watching North My big break walked out. West Frontier, when I was about “That was a bit of challenge, told me to take I can look back over my years which involved an expensive my big furry seven or eight. It was a ■ HOME: I live in the south-west of France in a very rural ‘I push myself as far historical movie and there was a and say most of them were and incredibly coat and my My first TV successful. I won Scottish Young spot, and my apartment in Spain is an escape for the moving trip to long hair and go scene with a massacre, there summer. programme were bodies everywhere. I had Journalist of the Year when I as I humanly can’ Scottish home and never ■ The thing that nightmares for days afterwards was 21 and segued from that LAST HOLIDAY: My wife Janice and I have done so settlement towns come back. That into writing for television. I had much travelling. We went to Quebec together to do in Quebec and was it, I was sticks out as a about that scene. It really shook very young kid is me. a great time working on some research for my new book. David Blaine the Magdalen kicked out of of the most popular shows on ■ FAVE TV PROGRAMME: I like Breaking BEST KNOWN FOR: Astonishing street magic Islands off the school and all of a The Lone Ranger. Then The Man My first music TV, but I quit to do what I really Bad, pictured right, Suits and Scandal. EARLY LIFE: Born David Blaine White on April coast there.” sudden I had to wanted to do –make a living From U.N.C.L.E Music was huge in my life and ■ LAST MUSIC LISTENED TO: The 4, 1973. He was raised in Brooklyn, New York. So, Peter’s newest focus and get a from writing books. It’s hard to made a big still is. I had piano lessons as a instrumental music from a TV CAREER: ABC executives became interested in addition to his long job. say what the moment of success impression when I kid but I hated them. I had just programme –Hebrides: Islands on Blaine after he shot a video of his street string of titles runs was. Maybe it came when my was a teenager. It was a kind given up on the piano when the Edge. Donald Shaw of Capercaille magic. Whether it’s biting a quarter in half along two timelines, My first holiday headteacher kicked me out of of spy programme, almost like a came along and created the music. and blowing it back together or ripping his with the crime story My first foreign holiday was a trip school. I got my revenge on him Bond-spoof type of thing. It had a that changed my life. I got so ■ REGRETS, IF ANY: Life is full of beating heart from his chest, Blaine never fails set in Quebec and to Italy when I was nine or 10, in a book though –Inamed the big following. into music and learned to play regrets, but I wouldn’t change to astound. the historical part on which was a huge adventure. My evil head of an orphanage after the guitar. I even went back to anything. Things happen the way they TRAVELLING: Holidays to 19th century Lewis dad drove from Glasgow to the him and described him down to TRIVIA: He once claimed he had My first film the keyboard and I spent the happen and I’m in a good place. I’m Italy in an Austin Eight. and Harris. Italian Riviera and it took five days a tee. That was my belated no plans to get married and My parents used to take us to the rest of my teens and early 20s living a life that makes me happy. “There’s a very strong in a battered old Austin Eight. revenge! have kids, however, he cinema almost every week. playing in bands. now has a fiancee and a daughter. QUOTE: ”I just believe that the feeling of wonder with ... martin lewis is amazing. I am pushing myself JOURNALIST and TV presenter makeover I did nine years ago. The reason say, ’This is the darkest time that anybody historic levels for a long time. It looks like as far as I can I wanted to do this one is because it is has faced’. We have a split economy. For things are starting to improve; we can humanly push Martin Lewis, 41, is back with a myself... ” new series of ITV’s The Martin Martin’s tips on perhaps the most difficult money those people working for private sector cross our fingers, but we are still far from makeover I’ve ever been involved in. They companies that tended to do rather well, getting back to where we were before it ■ Friday: Lewis Money Show. were a family who were in terrible, and they have tracker rate mortgages, all went bad. David Blaine: He talks about coping with the recession, how to save terrible trouble. I had to cancel their times have not been that bad at all. Real or Magic, why one size doesn’t fit all and why he Christmas. I had to tell them they had to For those working in the public sector or Finally, can you give us a , doesn’t preach about making money. sell their house –they’d run up £150,000 on benefits and have seen pay cuts, or 10pm. yourself money on the credit cards. It’s easy to go back those who have lost their jobs, who were potted history of how you What we can expect from the three months later and say, ’Oh yes, seeing rents go up, even when incomes made your millions? new series of the Martin holiday haggling –because lots of people they’ve started to improve,’ but nine weren’t, who were seeing gas and electric No because that’s never what I intended book holidays in January –and gas and years on... did it work? bills rise, it’s been hellish. to do. I certainly don’t preach about how Lewis Money Show? electricity again, which I categorise as I tend not to believe there’s any sort of to make money. That’s not really my thing Well, it’s the first time I’ve done the series both big and easy. After five years of one of the one size fits all problem that’s out there; or my passion, to be honest. in January, and January is money month. The idea is to save as much as possible. In it’s different for everybody. I was very lucky is the answer. I set up a It coincides with when everyone is sorting effect, it’s the programme that pays you darkest recessions ever, how NEW SHOW: Martin Lewis and Saira Khan. website I believed in and it originally had their money out, when everyone gets to watch. long do you think it’ll be Is there a lag between the no way of making money. their credit cards bills. We’ll be focusing before we show signs of recession ends. Certainly I think we’re I still don’t consider myself to be an very hard on what I like to call ’The big You’re readdressing a case for recession and its effects on going to be having problems at least for entrepreneur. and the easy’. The big: savings, mortgage, recovery? people? the next couple of years. Let’s remember I’m somebody who set up a website, and I gas and electricity, credit card, debt; the the first time in episode one Well I tend not to look at the economy, I - Yes, the most number of bankruptcies we’re still in this ridiculously low interest consider myself to be a journalist and easy: we’ve got hints on selling your gold, Yes, I’m doing a revisit of a money - SERIES: Martin Lewis will give money advice. look at individuals and I think it’s wrong to - tend to be 18 months after the time the rate environment, far and away below consumer campaigner.